The Rossendale Rambler

I had been walking the moors when I came to a building that at the time I did not know the name of, nor did I know its history.

It was situated on the edge of the West Pennine Moors between Bolton, Chorley and Blackburn.

The building was about 12 ft square and looked in good repair; it stood about 50 yards away from the ruins of what looked to be a very large house. Two iron gates at the front entrance were open. I walked through these into the gloomy interior of what was, I discovered, a well house. On the back wall was carved the face of a lion, its grotesque head resting between its two front paws. Water splashed down from its mouth and into a pool on the stone flagged floor. I felt somewhat uneasy there.

I couldn't get the image of the well out of my mind and I determined to know more about the history of the place. It was some time later that I finally found the information I sought. According to this information, an Edward Warren is listed as paying two shillings a year as rent for Hollinshead Hall. A hundred years later, in 1761, a descendant, George Warren sold Hollinshead and, curiously, the buyer was a man called Hollinshead. It is likely that this new owner re-built the hall in 1776 and eventually the hall was owned by Henry BrockHollinshead. Later the hall was bought by a local mill owner in 1845 and it remained in his family until its demolition.

The hall became derelict when the family moved away down south and but for the intervention of the Reverend A T Corfield, who in 1905, organised a public subscription to preserve the well, it too would have become derelict. Many strange tales are told about Hollinshead Hall and according to local legends many tragedies affected the Hollinshead family while they lived there.

Eventually, a document came into my possession titled 'The Wishing Well'. The author isn't named, but under the title is printed, 'A Moorland Romance by a Moorland Lad'. It is dated 1948.

It tells of a young son of the Hollinshead family who fell in love with a maid from Tockholes. But the head of the family disapproved of this love and forbade the boy to see the girl again. The boy disobeyed his father who went into a fearful rage and locked the boy in the well house over night as punishment. It isn't recorded what the boy saw there but when he was released in the morning his mind was completely deranged. It is said that the girl in question was distraught and both she and her baby died on the day the baby was born.

I don't have enough space in this article to recount all the fascinating stories that I found within the pages of the document, but one I must relate, as it has bearing on my feelings when I visited the well house.

The writer of the document says that he and a friend were engaged to do demolition work on Hollinshead Hall. It was winter time and snow began to fall heavily while they worked. As the light faded they realised they would not be able to get home so they spent the night in the well house. They found some hay in the stables and stuffed some sacks to make a cover to lie on as protection from the cold.

The writer says his friend slept but he did not. He had a strange feeling that they were not alone. He says, that although he had his eyes closed, he became aware that the room was illuminated and as he opened his eyes he saw a lady standing by the well. She turned towards him and he thought he had known her but couldn't remember who she was or where he had seen her. After making a wish and praying she left. Then a young man appeared. Both he and the girl had been dressed in the clothes of the King Charles era.

Eventually another lady appeared. She made the same gestures as the others before vanishing. Two other figures appeared later dressed in modern clothes. They were obviously in love. They went through the same ritual as the previous visitors, making a wish, before departing. When morning came the ground was covered by high drifts of snow so work had to be abandoned for the time being. The two men struggled through the snow and made their way home. But the writer states that this was not the end of his story.

It was thirty years after that dreadful night; the month was June and the year 1942 when the writer decided to take a walk to the well house. As he reached the place there was a car parked on the lane. There, two men dressed in R.A.F uniform and two young ladies were talking and looking towards the well house. One of the ladies went inside and when she emerged and turned to face the writer he recoiled with shock, for there, in the flesh, was the lady who had been his first visitor in the well house that snowy night thirty years ago.

"You are a Brock-Hollinshead, are you not?' the writer asked. The young lady said she was, but asked how he knew. "I have seen you here before, thirty years ago," was the reply. She laughed, "That is impossible," she said, "I am only eighteen years old."

I was fascinated with the stories contained in the document. Whether they are true I can't say. The writer seems to be genuine and as far as I can ascertain the historical details are correct.

All I can say is, that when I visited the well house I was very uneasy there. Was I picking up the vibrations of that winter's night and the events of a distant past?

Back to The Rossendale Rambler Contents Page

Back to The Rossendale Ramblers Home Page